i-docs opportunities: funding, pitching & workshops

There have been a few opportunities for interactive documentary makers over the last month, so incase you missed them, here’s a quick rundown. Most of the calls have already been posted on either our Facebook group or through Twitter – so make sure you’re following us!

Future of Storytelling prize:

The FoST Prize will be awarded to the most exceptional interactive story, which may include but is not limited to, web-based films, data-driven art, mobile apps, narrative games, multimedia installations, augmented reality experiences, and other multi-platform projects. Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:

1. Interactivity: Quality of user experience

2. Story–Driven Content: Communicates a clear narrative

3. Emotional Resonance: Strikes an affective chord with the user

4. Design Execution: Innovative, original, and beautifully crafted

Individuals and teams from any country are invited to apply.

Prize: Each semi-finalist will be invited to attend the exclusive FoST Summit in New York on October 1st and 2nd. FoST will promote the work of each semi-finalist at the summit, on the official website, and across social media channels. One grand-prize winner will be named at FoST during the main stage awards ceremony, awarded a cash prize of $2500, and given the chance to exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York during the Spring of 2015.

NFB Interactive Haiku:

This is a pretty cool call for submissions: Interactive and digital creatives, the National Film Board of Canada and ARTE challenge you to create a surprising, stirring and thought-provoking short interactive project.

There’s quite a few creative rules to follow, perhaps most importantly the typical legnth of the experience is limited to 60 seconds.

Prize: The twelve ( 12 ) Prize Winners will receive a lump sum of money in the form of a license worth twelve thousand Canadian dollars ( $12,000 ) or its equivalent in Euros calculated at the date in which the Prize Winner signs the contract to produce their Proposal.

PttP: The Pixel Market:

If you have a cross-media project that you’d like to get financed, want to understand new finance and business models and network with the world’s top financiers, commissioners, distributors, creatives and entrepreneurs, then this is for you!

The Pixel Market, 8-9 October, isthe largest and most established finance market dedicated to getting cross-media projects off the ground, this is the ultimate program for anyone at the forefront of storytelling innovation.

Prize: As well as the opportunity to pitch your project to industry, there’s also the Arte Pixel Market prize of €6,000, the beActive Pixel Market Prize for Scripted Content of £2,500 and the Cinekid Pixel Market Prize (for projects aimed at 4-14 year olds) which involves automatic selection for the 2014 Cinekid for Professionals co-production market in Amsterdam in October, free accreditation to the festival with return travel and accommodation

Sheffield Doc/Fest opportunities

Slightly different to the previous opportunities – off the back of the Sheffield Doc/fest, the team behind the interactive strand are offering mentoring for interactive projects:

A new year-round mentoring opportunity for documentary, factual media and cross-platform directors, producers and creatives to get advice, support, and a bespoke action plan for getting their projects funded, made and out there.

The mentoring does come at a price, £500+VAT for the sessions, but Creative England may be able to assist with funding, or you may have development funding in place already that could be utilised. There’s plenty more information available, including a breakdown of the support and requirements for applicants: sheffdocfest.com/articles/142-get-mentored-by-doc-fest

In addition to this, they are also putting on some Market Toolkit workshops in London this August. With a day dedicated to alternative funding and another to developing interactive projects, again this could form part of your development budget. Find out more here.

Are you running any sort of opportunity for the interactive documentary community that’s been missed here? Let us know in our Facebook group and if the deadline’s soon, i’ll add it to this list.

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This site is a space for news, research, analysis and dialogue about interactive documentary (i-docs). We welcome contributions from practitioners and researchers in the field.